Legacy Disowned - Book 1

Chapter 6 - Out for Fresh Air

Ominis was in a rotten mood. Sebastian had woken him in the middle of the night with the news that he had been caught out of bounds and needed him to pull some strings. It wasn't the first time.

Sebastian, Anne, and himself had gotten into enough trouble together over the years. Despite the disgust he held for his family, he had always been happy to be able to help his friends in that way. But now...Anne wasn't here and everything had changed.

He missed her enough without this awful feeling of being torn in two directions. Anne writing him daily, begging him to keep Sebastian from being consumed by his search. Sebastian meanwhile was constantly insisting that it was the only thing that mattered.

Secretly he hoped against all hope that Sebastian would find a cure. But he knew news Sebastian had gotten into trouble would cause Anne stress, and stress seemed to exacerbate her pain. He felt like he was letting her down, and there was nothing worse than that.

Sebastian had insisted that this time, it hadn't been about the cure. That he was helping Miss Darling with...something. He had been rather evasive on what that something was.

Somehow that made it much worse. Instead of pulling the strings to get himself and his friends out of trouble after some delightful mischief, he was getting Sebastian out of trouble for something he wouldn't even tell him about.

The whispers didn't make things any better. The whole school didn't seem to be able to get enough of Maggie Darling as it was. So when the news leaked that Sebastian Sallow's most recent detention had somehow involved her, the rumours had spread like wildfire.

Ominis couldn't avoid them. It was just part of being blind. He heard everything. So even though he didn't have class with Sebastian this morning he still had to listen to everyone's wild theories about the incident from the moment he left the dormitory that morning.

It was perhaps due to this that when Darling took a seat next to him in History of magic, he was feeling less than friendly towards her.

"Morning Ominis" she said, needlessly announcing her presence. She had the lightest footfalls he knew here and there was no mistaking that perfume.

"Hmm" he replied vaguely. It didn't help that he was tired from being woken in the middle of the night.

He heard Imelda's brisk footfalls approaching to take the seat on Darling's other side. He hoped they wouldn't get too chatty, he was hoping once Binns got started he could get some sleep.

"Well hey there, nice to see you awake." said Imelda tauntingly "seems you had a rather eventful evening."

"What?" Darling asked puzzled.

"Everyone's saying Sallow got detention covering for you" Imelda teased.

Darling shifted abruptly in her seat, "Huh, where did they get that?"

"Peeves," Imelda replied simply.

"Shit. That wiley little motherfucker"

Ominis sat up, Imelda choked with laughter at the sudden curse.

"Oh— you're all so uptight." said Darling. Despite how she postured herself, Ominis could tell from the heat radiating off her that her lack of social grace was indeed a source of insecurity for her.

"Who taught you how to talk like that?" Imelda snickered

"Nobody." She mumbled. And then, she was quiet for a while. "If everyone knows I was there then why haven't they come down on me too?"

"Cause the matter was already settled." sighed Ominis wearily. Thanks to me. "When the headmaster decides something is settled. It's settled."

"Oh.." Ominis could hear the faint scratching of Darling pricking at the desk.